FAN COMPRISING A COOLING BODY CONSISTING OF HEAT-CONDUCTIVE PLASTIC

Abstract

The invention relates to a fan (1) comprising an electronic system on a printed circuit board (2) and a cover (10) arranged above the electronic system, which is embodied both as an active cooling body and a passive cooling body, wherein the cover (10) is designed substantially as a flat covering element consisting of a thin-walled plastic and has a form with a surface (11) which is effective for the cooling of the electronic system arranged beneath the cover (10), said surface being larger than the projected base area of the cover (10) by a factor of at least 2.

Claims

1. A fan (1), comprising an electronic system on a printed circuit board (2) and a cover (10) arranged above the electronic system, which is embodied both as an active cooling body and a passive cooling body, wherein the cover (10) is designed substantially as a flat covering element consisting of a thin-walled plastic and has a form with a surface (11) which is effective for the cooling of the electronic system arranged beneath the cover (10), said surface being larger than the projected base area of the cover (10) by a factor of at least

2. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (10) has a cooling fin structure with a plurality of cooling fins (12).

3. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (10) forms a plurality of recesses (13) in which fastening holes (14) are provided at which the cover (20) is detachably fastened to the fan (1) by releasable fastening means (15).

4. The fan (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the cover (10), in the area of the cooling fin structure, has a flat contact side (16) for contacting heat-producing components.

5. The fan (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the cover (10) has the cooling fin structure in one or more areas.

6. The fan (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the cooling fins (12) are attached or formed to extend radially outwards.

7. The fan (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the cooling fins (12) have a changing, in particular outwardly decreasing, wall thickness.

8. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (10) forms a flat contact surface (19) on the bottom facing the electronic system, and in that, in the assembled state, this contact surface at least partially abuts electronic components.

9. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (10) is formed from a substantially round section (17) integrally joined to a projection (18).

10. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the material of the cover (10) is a polyamide (PA), polyurethane (PUR), polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene (PE).

11. The fan (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the thickness of the cover (10) is smaller in the area parallel to the arrangement of the printed circuit board (2) and/or the area of the flat contact surface (19) than in a periphery (20) or in the area of the cover (10) extending towards the electronic system by a factor of at least 2.

12. The fan (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the fan is a radial fan.

Description

[0025] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the sub-claims or are shown in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the figures.

[0026] Therein:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view through a radial fan,

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the radial fan of FIG. 1,

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a top view of the cover of the electronic system of the radial fan of FIG. 1,

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the cover of FIG. 3,

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the cover of FIG. 3.

[0032] In the following, the invention will be explained in greater detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, in which the same reference numerals indicate the same structural and/or functional features.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view through a fan 1, here a radial fan.

[0034] Fan 1 is embodied with an electronic system on a printed circuit board 2. Above the electronic system, a cover 10 according to the invention is shown which is embodied both as an active cooling body and a passive cooling body. As such, as can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 5, cover 10 is designed as a substantially flat covering element consisting of a thin-walled plastic and has a form with a surface 11 which is effective for the cooling of the electronic system arranged beneath cover 10, said surface being larger than the projected base area of cover 10 by a factor of at least 2 due to the cooling fin structure with a plurality of cooling fins 12 as can be seen in FIG. 2. As can also be seen, the cooling fins run or extend radially outwards.

[0035] The projected base area can be seen in the top view from the illustration in FIG. 3. As can also be seen in FIG. 5, the effective active surface is significantly increased by the fin structure. Cover 10 is formed from a substantially central round section 17 integrally joined to a projection 18 with a straight lateral edge.

[0036] In FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that cover 10 forms a plurality of recesses 13 in which fastening holes 14 are provided.

[0037] Operatively connected to the electronic system, cover 20 is detachably fastened to fan 1 by releasable fastening means 15 (e.g., screws). On the bottom facing the electronic system, cover 10 forms a flat contact surface 19 by which it at least partially abuts electronic components in the assembled state.

[0038] In the sectional view through cover 10, as shown in FIG. 5, it has a flat contact side 16 for contacting heat-producing components of the electronic system in the area of the cooling fin structure. It can also be seen that cooling fins 12 have a changing wall thickness, in particular slightly decreasing from bottom to top, and taper slightly, so to speak.

[0039] The practice of the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiments specified above. Rather, it is conceivable, to adapt the form and configuration of the cover correspondingly to the respective requirement and, for example, the number of areas with fin structures to the specific cooling task.